This is my latest piece of furniture that I’ve refinished. After doing the last dining room table I think that I was so happy with the results that I chose to forget how much sanding and time had been involved. I think that for people who see the potential in secondhand objects it can be hard to pass up a project. When I saw this French Provincial style dining table with queen anne legs and a pretty scalloped top I had to restore it!
This is a more process oriented post than normal because I documented all of the steps it took to get to the finished product. Hopefully all of this trial and error will help someone about to start a refinishing project or in the midst of one.
This is what I learned along the way…
This is the before and while the shape was beautiful, the scratches, worn edges and finish needed some work. What I didn’t expect was that this top would be very hard to sand down evenly and the staining process gave me more trouble that it ever has before.
After using a stripper (which did nothing) and sanding there were uneven patches.
I tried the darkest stain I had to try to balance out the uneven colour with a red cherry stain I already had.
Then I applied a light grey stain but this colour wasn’t the look I was going for.
I ended up having to buy another stain, a dark grey which is pictured above. I also used chalk paint in graphite as a base layer for the bottom.
This is it after a couple coats of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in white. After all of the trouble with the stain not working how I wanted, the paint was so easy and enjoyable to do. I distressed the base with some sanding and then added a coat of light grey stain and sealed it with a matte varnish.
Since this table was going up for sale after being completed I took some photos for fun.
I keep saying that this is the last time I’ll refinish furniture that isn’t for our house but I think that if I come across the right piece I’ll do it again.
Thanks Apartment Therapy for the feature!
This is another table that I refinished in a different style if you want to see more.
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